An Introduction to Tuvan Folk Music

At the heart of all Tuvan folk music is throat singing, a major form of overtone singing that has gained an impressive amount of exposure in recent years. It originated within the Turko-Mongol tribes of the Altai and Sayan mountains located in southern Siberia and western Mongolia. Initially, it arose out of an effort to mimic one’s surroundings, and for the pastoral people of Tuva, and Mongolia, the surrounding environment often provided great acoustics for their singing. Even today, many throat singers will seek out rivers, steppes, etc in which they can sit and sing.

Animism is a common element of khorekteer, specifically the lyrics. For those that don’t know, it is the belief that certain aspects of the natural environment, such as rivers or mountains, are inhabited by spirits. Some of the specific styles of throat singing emerged in an effort to lend character to these spirits.

The first thing to take into account when reading this blog, is that Mongolian folk music, and Tuvan folk music, while similar in vocal styles and instruments, are not the same. I may one day take the time to delve more deeply into Mongolian throat singing, but for now I’m only covering Tuvan throat singing.

The first recording of Khorekteer was on a gramophone disc under the supervision of E.V. gippius in 1934. Since then there have been numerous instances of some exposure here and there, (including a scientific study done on the mechanisms of throat singing) but not much other than first person accounts that no one other than certain ethnologists, or music nerds (me lol) took the time of day to read.

Later on, attitudes towards khorekteer would be altered somewhat during the time when they were part of the USSR. While they weren’t prohibited from expressing their traditions, they were encouraged via soviet propaganda to discard their traditions as useless relics of the past. Funny enough however, the developments made in Tuva during the soviet era would actually help khorekteer succeed on an international scale, with a small but significant number of traditional throat singers starting up ensembles/bands and touring worldwide. Among the most famous of these groups would be Huun Huur tu, and Yat-Kha.

The many recent successes weren’t necessarily in the best interests of the Tuvans themselves. As it turns out, most throat singers were herders, humble men of the earth who needed something to help the time pass as they allowed their livestock to graze. Many of these same herders wouldn’t exactly be comfortable performing in front of others anyway, as noted by Robert Beahrs in his dissertation.

As of now, competitions are held for throat singing in Kyzyl, where a panel of judges, most of which are masters of the craft, hold firm to many of their beliefs on authenticity, including beliefs that one must be Tuvan and grow up in Tuva for their khorketeer to be considered authentic. Any outsiders that try to compete in Kyzyl will be faced with a rather serious uphill battle, and if they can’t even wear the proper garb they’ll be disqualified immediately.

Many would also argue that the current state of khorketeer competitions go against tradition as well. After all, it would usually take place outdoors, where their voices could resonate with their surroundings. However, performances held indoors have a presence of their own, which to some, is fully capable of transporting them to the great landscapes that inspired the music to begin with.

It’s no coincidence that most successful Tuvan throat singers today, were truck drivers before they were weaving drones with overtones and undertones in front of audiences. The itinerate lifestyle of a herder is not all that different from the life of a truck driver after all. What they all share at an even deeper level, is a genuine love of the environment around them.

Notable Styles of Khorekteer

Khoomei (Xöömei): the most fundamental style of throat singing. This style involves monitoring pitch by lightly squeezing the vocal chords together (often describes as a wheeze). This produces the overtone which can then be altered by shaping the lips and oral cavity, as well as changing the position of the tongue and throat muscles. The sound is reminiscent of wind flowing over rocks.

Sygyt: A high pitched whistle resembling the cries of birds. It is produced by pushing the tongue against the hard palate, which reduces the sound of the bass note while allowing the overtone to dominate. Tone is controlled through shaping the lips.

Kargyraa: A combination of a growling undertone and higher pitched overtones resembling the cry of a distressed mother camel. It involves the use of the ventricular vocal folds, also known as the false chords. Vocalists in other styles of music such as death metal, use the same general area of the throat to produce a growling sound, but not in combination with the vocal techniques used by Tuvan throat singers to produce overtone.

It comes in two main variations;

Dag kargyraa (mountain kargyraa) is the lower pitched variant which involves some use of the nasal passages and a lessening of throat tension

Borbangnadyr: A trilling or warbling effect added to one of the three main styles above, formed by a rapid oscillation of the lips. The sound resembles the cries of birds as well as the rolling sound of some creeks.

Ezengileer: An oscillating effect added to one of the three main styles resembling the sound of metal stirrups or a horse gallop. It is produced by opening and closing the velum such that the tones alternate between the nasal and oral cavities, often causing differences in resonance

Chilandyk: A combination of kargyraa and sygyt

Dumchuktaar: To produce sound through the nasal passages. This technique is used heavily in ezengileer, and occasionally in dag kargyraa.

A basic diagram of the different frequencies of overtone

Tuvan Instruments

Stringed Instruments

Igil: Two stringed bowed instrument, with an elliptical case

Doshpuluur: A two-three stringed instrument with a trapezoidal case, typically played by plucking.

Byzaanchy: A stringed bowed instrument with four strings. The first and third are tuned in unison, while the second and fourth are also tuned in unison but a quart above. The onion shaped bow consists of two hair strands which are passed between the two pairs of strings. The left hand is placed under the strings, where the nails are used to produce the given notes.

A byzaanchy

Woodwinds

Limbi: a transverse flute

Amyrga: a tapered wooden pipe used as a hunting decoy. It produces overtone through sucking air through it rather than blowing air out. It was made to imitate the mating call of the male red deer.

Khomus: A jaw harp consisting of a flexible reed attached to a frame consisting of two plates which are held in place by the player’s teeth. The reed is struck by the player’s finger, and changes to the sound are made by shaping the mouth and alterations in breathing patterns.

Shoor: A longitudinal flute placed in the right side of the mouth. The tone is produced by blowing air out, and overtone is produced by opening and closing the end.

Ediski: A piece of birch placed between the lips. Blowing produces a sharp sound used to resemble the cry of a female musk deer, as well as the cries of birds.

Alexey Saryglar plays khomus

Drums

Dungur (tambourine): One of the main tools of the shaman, Curved pieces of iron and silk around the outside, with animal skin as the surface.

Duyug: An idiophone composed of horse hooves strung together.

Kengirge: A large double sided drum, originally an instrument in Buddhism.

Konguluur: a reed hanging bell.

Hapchyk: A membranophone played by striking the membrane at the top.

An igil propped up against a kengirge

Recommended Bands

Huun Huur Tu - “Live”

Huun-Huur-Tu - Live

Arguably the most famous of the Tuvan folk groups. This quartet has an impressive discography of transcendental folk music, but my personal favorite of theirs is a live performance available on youtube.

Yat-Kha - “Yenisei Punk”

Yat-Kha - Yenisei Punk - Full Album

This group deviated from traditional values a bit in experimenting with rock. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the biggest fan of the rock/throat singing fusion groups out there, but Yat-Kha’s album “Yenisei Punk” is quite fun for me, maybe in part because it has less rock and more of the folkier music that I like (ha).

Vladimir Oiunovich Oidupaa - “Divine Music From a Jail

Oidupaa Vladimir Oiun - "Divine Music From A Jail" [Full Album]

Oidupaa was actually imprisoned for 33 years on accounts of alleged murder. At the time soviet authorities suspected him as a cult leader similar to Charles Manson, and jailed him as a result. Whether he actually committed the crimes he was convicted of isn’t known, but this is Soviet Russia we’re talking about. His style was a bluesy combination of Bayan (a type of accordion) and a unique style of Kargyraa named after him (Oidupaa kargyraa). This would be highly recommended among the deviating styles of khorekteer, as few one man acts are capable of producing music as dynamic and sonically rich as he did.

Various Artists - “Tuva Voices From the Center of Asia”

This album is more worth listening for the variety of different vocalists which add their own nuances to each track. It also demonstrates a more traditional take on khorekteer in that most of the songs are played by only one person, using either a traditional instruments, or no instruments at all.

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